EURO in Lithuania: 12 points for Belgium!
EUROvisionOR Contest: 12 points for Belgium!
Four of our Operations Researchers from the OR&S group at Ghent University are now in Vilnius, Lithuania for the 25thEuropean Conference on Operational Research.
The full conference schedule can be downloaded here but of course, what's really really interesting are our presentations, and that's why I have summarized them along the following lines:
Presentation 1. Dynamic pricing with predefined tariff constraints
Kris Meyers, Mario Vanhoucke and Behzad Samii
Abstract: We develop a discrete dynamic pricing model for electricity (but also for applications like mobile communication, car rental) to maximize profit under fluctuating demand, in a discrete finite time horizon. The seller has an agreement with the buyers to sell at preset tariffs. He can charge the highest tariffs for a limited amount of periods. Cost is a piecewise linear function of the quantity sold. We propose an IP formulation, test the model with numerical experiments and develop algorithms for several extentions like multiple customer segments, cost for changing tariffs, stochastic demand.
Presentation 2. An integrated solution procedure for project staffing
Broos Maenhout and Mario Vanhoucke
Abstract: We study a strategic scheduling problem that integrates project scheduling and personnel staffing in order to determine how to staff and schedule single projects as best as possible. A decision is made on the best mix of resource types (regular workers, overtime and temporal workers) to carry out a single project. In this perspective, we want to determine the project schedule and deadline and the usage of the different resources in order to minimize the total cost.
Presentation 3. Solving the integrated physician and surgery scheduling problem under stochastic demand
Christophe Van Huele and Mario Vanhoucke
Abstract: We present a stochastic program to solve both the operating theatre scheduling problem as the physician rostering problem. Both problems have received a huge amount of attention in literature, but the combination remains untackled, largely due to complexity. The stochastic integer programming formulation is created based on the most important objectives and restrictions of both problems. We analyze schedules after applying variation on the surgeries. Our experiments show some interesting insights for physician roster schedulers as well as operating theatre scheduling managers.
Presentation 4. An Invasive Weed Optimization algorithm for the resource availability cost problem
Vincent Van Peteghem and Mario Vanhoucke
Abstract: In this study, an Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO) algorithm for the resource availability cost problem is presented, in which the total cost of the (unlimited) renewable resources required to complete the project by a pre-specified project deadline should be minimized. The IWO algorithm is a new search strategy, which makes use of mechanisms inspired by the natural behavior of weeds in colonizing and finding a suitable place for growth and reproduction. All algorithmic components are explained in detail and computational results for the RACP are presented.
Coming soon in academic papers near you!